India’s fastest woman hurdler, Jyothi Yarraji, who made history as the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in hurdles, has spoken out about the lack of financial support and recognition for non-cricket athletes in India. In an exclusive interview with Oneindia/MyKhel, Yarraji, who hails from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, revealed that while she has been training under British coach James Hillier at the Reliance Athletics High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, she has received no support from the Andhra Pradesh government.
#JyothiYarraji #EqualPayForAthletes #IndianAthletics #SupportIndianAthletes #AthleteEquality #AsianGames #TrackAndField #WomenInSports #SportsFunding #PayParity #AthleteRecognition #SupportNonCricketSports #BharatKiBeti #IndianSports #HurdlesChampion
~HT.178~PR.152~ED.194~
#JyothiYarraji #EqualPayForAthletes #IndianAthletics #SupportIndianAthletes #AthleteEquality #AsianGames #TrackAndField #WomenInSports #SportsFunding #PayParity #AthleteRecognition #SupportNonCricketSports #BharatKiBeti #IndianSports #HurdlesChampion
~HT.178~PR.152~ED.194~
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00:00My first thinking was that I haven't thought much about money all these years.
00:05I always thought that the more medals I win, the more I can do and everything will come to me.
00:12As soon as I grew up, so whenever my seniors and everybody, they teach me like that.
00:18But that belief broke.
00:20I missed my originality, but it was really hard for me. It's really, truly hard for me.
00:26My parents never asked me anything for 25 years.
00:30But for the first time, they said like, I want to go and see the minister, prime minister and ma'am.
00:37If you look at cricket, if you go to the nationals, they get crores of crores of money.
00:42I got a medal in the Asian Games.
00:44Same medal in comparing to the seven different states.
00:47They are giving three crores.
00:49So for me, I get 20 lakhs.
00:52If I don't do what I want to do, my family will never move forward.
00:55My mom hasn't left Vizag and gone abroad yet.
00:59If I say Gohat or UK, she will think of both at the same time.
01:04Because she doesn't know.
01:06She never shows athletics in sports.
01:08Which one makes you happier?
01:11Unexpectedly, 200.
01:12Because if I don't train, if that happens, it's a lot of fun.
01:17And 100m hurdles is always a pressure to have.
01:21What is the level of competition? Has it improved?
01:23The level of competition has improved.
01:25You can see it has improved a lot in the last two years.
01:28The first medal was 13.9, gold.
01:31If you don't do below 13, I won't give you the chance.
01:37So I think the girls are improving a lot.
01:41Everyone else is growing well.
01:46But I'm thinking to grow more.
01:49Because I never want to give a chance.
01:53I don't want to look small, so that I can run in 14 or 13.
01:58No one knows how much talent there is.
02:01You can come anytime.
02:02I don't want to look small or big.
02:06When I come to the blocks, my complete focus will be on me.
02:11Whatever you do, whatever you don't do,
02:14but completely it's on me.
02:16What are your expectations this year?
02:19100% my expectations run fast.
02:22When I run well, I will get medals and everything else.
02:27My target is to run 12.5 or 12.6.
02:33That's my next step.
02:35We are trying to work hard to improve that.
02:39I learned a bit from the South African camp.
02:44It's a really great camp because it gave me a great experience.
02:49I will never get a chance to train with 12 or 13 athletes.
02:56So it's like a huge experience for me.
03:00When we go to a competition, we look like a competitor.
03:05But when we go for training, we get a lot to learn.
03:09So I think it's a really great start for me.
03:13And I missed Argentina already.
03:18But it was really hard for me.
03:20It's really truly hard for me.
03:22Because Argentina is a very recognisable thing for me.
03:28My parents also wanted to come.
03:30My parents never asked me anything in 25 years.
03:34They asked me.
03:36But for the first time, they said I wanted to go
03:38and see the minister, prime minister and ma'am.
03:43But unfortunately, our life is like this.
03:47We have to sacrifice what we like the most.
03:50I cried a lot that day because I couldn't make it.
03:55But I feel God will give me good chances.
03:58It will be worth what I sacrifice.
04:00There is monetary help that you should get from the Andhra government.
04:04Tell us about it.
04:05My first thinking was that I haven't thought about money for so many years.
04:12I always thought that the more medals I win,
04:15the more I can do and everything will come up for me.
04:20I grew up like this.
04:21So whenever my seniors and everybody, they teach me like that.
04:26But that belief broke.
04:28So I'm doing everything I can.
04:31I'm giving 100% in every competition.
04:34I'm giving medals in everything.
04:35No one has gone to the Olympics yet.
04:37I went.
04:38Going to the Olympics is not very difficult for other countries.
04:43But it's a bit difficult for our country.
04:46Because our athletes don't grow up in India.
04:50So if you look at cricket,
04:52if you go to the national team, they get crores of crore of money.
04:55So I'm not, I know,
04:58I'm really grateful to all the sports they support.
05:01But the thing, equality is very important in a sport.
05:04So the medal I won in Asian Games,
05:09same medal in comparing to the seven different states,
05:13they're giving three crores.
05:15So for me, I get 20 lakhs.
05:17So when I see equality,
05:19I think, why don't I deserve it?
05:21Why is it happening to me?
05:23It's not like my parents are really well educated
05:26or they're well settled.
05:28So it's okay, if they don't give it,
05:29it will come from my family.
05:31Whatever I can do, if I don't do it,
05:32my family will never move forward.
05:34My mom hasn't left Vizag and gone abroad yet.
05:38If I say Gohat or UK,
05:41she'll think of both the places.
05:44Because she doesn't know.
05:45She never shows her athletics in sports.
05:47So how will she know?
05:49So that is the problem.
05:50You said about your father's salary.
05:52He's the only breadwinner.
05:54Vipul, tell us about him.
05:55So, we're in 2025.
05:58So, you can say 7 to 10 thousand.
06:03How can you manage in a month?
06:06It is below average, low class.
06:10So I think, which I'm achieving,
06:13I'm grateful, which I am now.
06:16So I'm really thankful to God,
06:18that God didn't give me money,
06:21so he gave me a good motivation to move forward.
06:24But if the government doesn't support me,
06:27who should I ask?
06:29What should I say?
06:31I don't have anyone to ask,
06:33but I'm really requesting the media
06:37to give me more support,
06:40so that I can move forward.
06:41And my state, youngsters should also be motivated.
06:45It's not like,
06:46my sister did so well,
06:47but she didn't get anything,
06:48so what will we get?
06:49So, they shouldn't be demotivated.
06:52So, just I'm asking the request to all the people.
06:57Just we need the,
06:59what we are working,
07:01the good results.
07:05What are your targets for this year?
07:07So, till now, last year and this year,
07:1012-7-8, I blocked at the same time.
07:13But unfortunately, last year,
07:14I hit a hurdle and got injured.
07:17So, it was very difficult for me to move forward.
07:20When you get injured,
07:22it becomes very low,
07:24your medical expenses,
07:26your time,
07:27your finances are also very high.
07:28So, this year, I'm really focusing on to be healthy.
07:33And my target is 12-5-6.
07:36So, I'm not exactly putting on that mark to my,
07:40I'm not putting pressure on my mind,
07:41but I want to do it.
07:44So, I work very hardly and very smartly to go forward.
07:48And me and my coach and my team is working really good.
07:51I think we will get it soon.